The move allows businesses or government agencies to provide virtual tours of locations displayed online with 360-degree views.<\/p>\n
“The integration of Photosynth into Virtual Earth marks an important step in enabling businesses to use Photosynth in a relevant, customer-friendly way,” said Microsoft Mapping and Local Search general manager Jeff Kelisky.<\/p>\n
“Our Virtual Earth partners have great tools for creating, sharing, viewing and embedding synths across multiple platforms, and building engaging experiences.”<\/p>\n
US space agency NASA and British tourism business VisitBrighton put Microsoft’s new Virtual Earth offering to work prior to the public launch.<\/p>\n
“This stunning collection of photographs using Microsoft Photosynth … technology provides people around the world with an exciting new way to explore the International Space Station,” said NASA Ames Research Center director Pete Worden.<\/p>\n
“This collaboration with Microsoft offers the public the opportunity to participate in future exploration using this innovative technology.”<\/p>\n
VisitBrighton is using Virtual Earth 3D imagery to entice tourists with displays of the city’s attractions.<\/p>\n
Photosynth can be used for immersive virtual tours of real estate for sale as well as letting people interactively browse aisles of stores presented at Virtual Earth, according to Microsoft.<\/p>\n
Photosynth software analyzes digital photographs and generates 3D models by “stitching” the photos together to create seamless views. These models, dubbed “synths,” are viewed using Microsoft’s Silverlight technology.<\/p>\n
“With the integration of Photosynth into Virtual Earth customers will be able to create detailed 3-D views of anything from places to products and from hotels to homes,” Microsoft said.<\/p>\n